Nutrition, Diet, And Hepatitis C

Everything we drink and eat passes through the liver and it is the liver that changes food into chemicals and stored energy, both of which are necessary for life. The liver also makes nutrients available to the body can use these in order to give you energy, continue normal body functions, and build cells.

Diet Affecting The Liver

A diet that is bad can cause problems for the liver. If there are far too many calories in your diet, this can lead to an increase in weight, which is associated with building fat in the liver. If you have hepatitis C as well as a fatty liver, this increases your chances of developing cirrhosis. It has also been shown that having both these problems make it difficult to successfully clear hepatitis C using Ribavirin and Interferon.

A diet containing toxins is also harmful to the liver. Some toxins act quicker than others and consuming foods such as specific poisonous mushrooms can even cause liver failure or even death within days. The liver is damaged over time by certain toxins such as Alcohol.

A good diet improves the health of a person suffering from hepatitis C. If a diet is balanced, this leads to better functioning and a lower risk of cirrhosis of the liver. This also helps the immune system fight of illness and remain strong.

Hepatitis C And Diet

Individuals with hepatitis C do not call for a special diet. However, eating healthy and avoiding alcohol and being overweight is what’s needed. Special cases where the illness does affect one's diet include:

Patients with cirrhosis – as the liver disease develops, patients can become tired and lose their appetite. They may become poorly nourished and thin, which makes them less able to fight off disease. Their salt intake may also need to be limited.

Patients who are treated with Interferon – the treatment can cause side effects and make it difficult for the individual having the treatment to eat. Other side effects include the sore mouth, loss of appetites, metallic tastes, sore throat, vomiting, and nausea.

Diet and other medical conditions – people with other medical conditions may need other changes in their diet that are specific. Such conditions that permit special dietary rules include heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, or celiac sprue.

Eating Tips

Individuals with Hepatitis C do not need to follow a special diet for the illness. There is general dietary advice (listed below), which the individual should focus on. It is no way important that one suffering from hepatitis C cannot have a diet of a healthy, average person unless the individual is also suffering from cirrhosis, HIV, kidney disease, or diabetes.